Feudal Society
by Dark Action Girl
Summary: AU. Karin was a child, taken from her family. Toushiro is a boy with no past. Ichigo is a brother who trusts neither. Daeva, people with extraordinary powers are in danger of being wiped out, and it's up to three of them to work together and defeat the mysterious group out to kill them, known as The Banished. HitsuKarin, some IchiRuki
1. Chapter 1

**Another HitsuKarin fic! What? I know, crazy, but you're getting it! This is one I've been crazy eager to post. Again, I have a few chapters already written and ready to be posted once I get the feeling people want to keep reading this. *cough*reviews*cough***

**This one has a lot of characters and a will contain a bunch of side stories. I predict this will be a long one.**

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_Daeva – people who are believed to be the reincarnations of ancient beings. Daeva posses a variety of innate, inhuman abilities, and no two Daeva share the same ability. _

_They were greatly hated and feared during Feudal Japan. The term Daeva was used to describe them as 'gods to be rejected'. _

_The people of today are unaware of their existence._

()()()

Ichigo tiredly walked through an empty field, headed back to town. It was a hot day and he was returning from a nearby lake just outside of Karakura. He needed relief from the heat but also the pressure he was getting from his father. Isshin was usually not so invasive when it came to his son's life, but lately he there had been an nagging persistence from him. Ichigo assumed that it was the recent disappearances of Daeva that had is father acting so odd. Well, odd for Isshin anyway. But he cared nothing of it. In Ichigo's opinion, it was probably just a coincidence.

Next to him was his roommate and best friend, Renji Abarai. He had joined Ichigo to swim and cool off in the large lake. Usually they would be cooped up in their shared apartment playing video games, but today they both decided it was far too hot to be inside.

"What's with you?" the redhead asked as he looked at Ichigo's dazed expression. They were just arriving to their complex.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "I'm going to grab some dry clothes and head over to my family's place."

The two men began to walk through the apartment complex feeling the heat beat down on them once again. Ichigo had his usual scowl on his face while Renji would throw a cocky grin to some of the residential women who were outside. In all the three years they've been in college, things never seemed to change. Ichigo was born and raised in Karakura while Renji moved there about four years ago. They both ended up being roommates to cut down on rent and in an attempt to avoid staying at home, living with their parents.

Renji stayed in the apartment while Ichigo put on some dry clothes and left.

Ichigo stopped in front of his dad's house/clinic on the other side of town. The orange haired man walked into the house but found it oddly empty. He went into the kitchen and saw a man who resembled him quite a bit, save for their hair and eyes.

The taller man smiled. "Hey Ichigo, you've finally decided to stop hiding from your family," he teased.

He scowled at the dark haired man. "What? You think I'm avoiding you guys, Kaien?"

Kaien ruffled up his younger brother's hair. "Maybe. Dad and I've been waiting for you to get here."

"In that case, I better leave while I still have a chance," Ichigo joked as he swatted away his hand as the older man laughed.

"Ichigo!" He heard a loud voice yell and before he could turn around, a kick was thrown to the side of his head. Ichigo grabbed the foot and threw the man to the ground.

"Even after I moved out, you still pull this crap!" he yelled to his father that was face down on the floor.

Isshin just hopped up from the floor with a grin and a bloody nose. "Gotta keep you sharp with all these mysterious disappearances. But now you get to hear the fantastic news!"

"And what's the fantastic news that's got you guys all giddy?" Ichigo replied suspiciously.

Isshin grinned even more and looked to Kaien who spoke. "Miyako is pregnant," he said happily referring to his wife.

Ichigo beamed. "Congrats. Now I get to corrupt your kid with my influence."

Kaien only shook his head. "Don't let Miyako hear you say that or she'll never let you near it."

Isshin nudged Ichigo with his elbow. "You need to hurry up and marry Rukia and make your own children! That way you don't have to turn your niece or nephew into little a punk like you."

Ichigo groaned. "Why do you always try to make me think about something like getting married?" he complained.

"A man should strive to marry a respectable wife and have children to carry on the family name!" Isshin yelled proudly.

Ichigo took to ignoring his father and his mind left the conversation. Ichigo didn't want to think about marriage. He loved Rukia but he at least wanted to finish medical school and have a solid job before he even started thinking about settling down. Thankfully she seemed to feel the same way about the subject.

()()()

Karin was laying on her back looking up at the moldy ceiling she had become so accustomed to. It had been years since she was able to look at the stars instead of stuck in the ratty, old, underground dungeon. The very cell she was sitting in had been her home since the day she arrived in that place. It had been eight years since she was taken from her family and put in the Daeva Penitentiary.

Her crime? Living.

She could almost say she was one of the lucky ones who were thrown into cells and chained to walls rather than killed on the spot. She and other Daeva children her age went through hell, but at least they were alive. Karin hated thinking about it though. She lived it everyday, so why think about it in her short breaks of peace?

The black haired girl thought about her family. _I wonder if they miss me,_ she thought distantly. She didn't really remember their faces too well and names were a lost cause, but she did miss them. Karin was now sixteen or so—she didn't remember her birthday—and she held some kind of hope that they still thought about her, if they were still around that was. She had no way of knowing if they were still alive, what with all the mess that's been happening to Daeva.

She sighed. In the end it didn't matter. She would never get out of her hell and she would never see her family again. It was a sad and cruel fact she had come to terms with a long time ago. The only thing she could hope for was that one day...she would see the sky again.

A loud banging on her cell door snapped her from her thoughts. One of her regular guards was there, giving her a sneer. "Time to go, Sparky."

Still lounging on the floor, Karin didn't look up. "Where to this time, Lord Fat Ass?" she asked dryly. There were only two places she went other than her cell. The lab or the fighting ring. Neither were more appealing than the other.

"Both," he chuckled. Karin's heart sped up with nervousness. She had never gone to both places in one day, it was either one or the other. Never both. Never a change in the routine she had known for eight years.

"Why?"

He seemed to like the reaction he was getting from Karin. Much better than her usual snark. "Don't know, but you'll get to find out soon." He opened the gate and walked in. She had yet to look up at him or move from her laying position. He gave her a hard kick to her stomach. "Get up!"

She coughed and gasped for air. She slowly got to her feet and leaned back against the brick wall, glaring at the man. Without warning, she brought her foot up and kicked him between his legs. He hissed in pain and fell forward. "You're lucky I can't use my powers in this cell," she warned. Each cell was specifically designed for the prisoner, depending on their ability, to keep them in.

Karin quickly left the cell and looked down the halls. They were empty at the moment and she ran down the corridors, looking into each cell. The other children that noticed her began to call her name for help. She felt guilty but she knew she couldn't stop and help them all right then. She needed to find a certain someone, and then she would come back to help the others.

She stopped at the last cell at the end of the hall. She went up to the bars and looked in, finding the person she was searching for. The prisoner in the cell was chained to the wall behind him, arms cuffed above his head and feet shackled to the floor. His head was hanging limply, his white hair shading his eyes. He looked to be sleeping, and she believed it. He was one of the few prisoners who was suppose to be restrained at all times and knew he had probably gotten used to sleeping like that after so long.

"Toushiro," she said quietly, trying to get his attention.

He grunted a little and lifted his head slightly to reveal tired teal eyes. When he saw her at his cell door, he was more than shocked. "Karin? How'd you get out of your cell?"

"No time. I'm going to get you out," she told him.

His eyes widened. "Karin! Behind you!"

She whipped around, only to meet a hard blow to the head from a club. Her vision went black as she fell out of consciousness and to the ground. The guard behind her looked thoroughly pissed at her third attempted escape that month. But she had never made it this far before.

"Karin!" Toushiro yelled, jerking himself from the wall. He pulled at his cuffs and shackles as they cut into his skin, but to no avail. The guard picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. "Don't touch her!" he yelled in rage.

The guard smirked. "Don't worry, Frosty. You'll be going to the lab after her," he said before walking away. Just before he was out of sight, he said one last thing. "And then you two will fight against each other in the ring."

()()()

Tatsuki huffed tiredly as she walked through the woods. She was feeling woozy but refused to stop until she made it back to Karakura. Not ten minutes ago she was attacked by men she didn't know, an uncommon occurrence for even her. Out of nowhere three men dressed in strange, white uniforms started shooting at her while she was taking a walk. She liked to wander around the forest that bordered Karakura every so often, but never did she have to worry about something bizarre.

The nagging bullet wound in her right arm was still bleeding and she wanted to get to town as soon as possible before more of those men showed up. What was really bothering her though was that she was currently unable to get the bullet out. The ones who attacked her were easy enough to take out and she was angry that she let them surprise her the way they did.

She growled under her breath. _What's going on? And who were those guys? _she thought to herself, heatedly.

What shocked her the most was that the men knew she was a Daeva. They had actually found a way to identify Daeva, and it appeared they had plans in mind about what to do with them. But the pain was distracting her from thinking too much. Her main priority had to be to get her arm fixed up. And her second task would be to warn the others about what she came across.

She was losing too much blood . She looked back at her arm. _If I could get the bullet out I'd be able to burn it shut._

She looked up and finally saw the decently sized town of Karakura about a mile from the hill she was standing on in the woods. She grinned victoriously, seeing that she was finally to her destination.

Her happiness was interrupted by the sound of men shouting. She turned around and her eyes widened to see about five more men wearing the same white uniforms as the ones that ambushed her earlier, running right at her. They were all armed with guns and she knew they weren't just for show.

She could feel her arms heat up as she faced the oncoming men. Tatsuki smirked and eased into her fighting stance. "Bring it on, you bastards."

()()()

Aizen sat in his thrown-like chair waiting for the news he had been looking forward to over the past few days. Things had been boring for him lately. Sure, creating an army was eventful, but everything was almost set and now it felt like the calm before the storm. Things were going quite smoothly for him. Who knew he could find every single Daeva with something so insignificant as a crystal?

The doors opened and Tousen walked into the room. "The messenger has arrived with the latest identifications," he stated while handing Aizen a sheet of paper.

Aizen took it and looked at the text on the paper. He smiled and then sat it down on his desk which contained countless other sheets of paper with similar content on them. One of the things he felt that helped pass the time was getting information on Daeva. He looked over the paper one last time.

He turned to Tousen who was waiting patiently for orders. "There's quite a bit of them in Karakura and I doubt the five troops we sent there will be enough. Especially considering who we're dealing with." He eyed the names with mild interest. A few of them had been quite allusive of him in the past. "Dispatch a few more units to terminate the pests," he said smoothly as if he weren't talking about killing, "and tell Kurotsuchi that I want numbers 6436 and 4781 tested immediately."

The blind man bowed in response and quickly left the room to carry out orders. Aizen let a satisfied yet always calm smile spread on his lips. "Everything is coming into place and soon the Banished will have our revenge," Aizen said triumphantly.

()()()

Renji wiped the sweat from his brow. He and Ichigo were locked in a stare as they stood about 10ft from each other. It was hot again today but not as hot as the day before so they decided to spar a little outside the town by the lake while Rukia watched. Renji looked to his left and right as he scoped out his surroundings. Ichigo just waited for him to move.

The redhead dashed to the right and Ichigo placed his hand out, his open palm facing Renji. Once Renji got close, an exact copy of himself separated from his body and ran left. The two Renjis charged at Ichigo who still had his palm facing them. Once the second Renji got near him, a black blast of energy shot out of Ichigo's hand, hitting it in the chest. The second Renji flew backwards and laid motionless on the ground. While Ichigo was distracted looking at the pseudo Renji, the real one came up from behind and tackled the orange haired man to his stomach with his face in the dirt.

Renji chuckled. "What's wrong? That one usually doesn't get you."

Ichigo struggled under his friend's grip. "Don't think you've won yet." It was then that Renji noticed Ichigo's palms were facing up towards him. Black blasts shot from Ichigo's hands, throwing Renji off his back. Renji looked up to see Ichigo standing above him smugly.

"That's 3 out of 5. I win," Ichigo said with a smirk. He held his hand out and pulled his friend back to his feet. Renji wiped away the small trickle of blood that came from his busted lip, courtesy of Ichigo's winning attack. The second Renji that still laid unmoving, began to fade away until it completely disappeared.

Rukia, who was sitting by watching the match walked up to the two. "How can you guys fight when it's this hot out?" she complained while fanning herself.

Ichigo looked at his girlfriend. "Then let's cool you off," he suggested as he grabbed her up by the waist, hauling her over his shoulder and walked over to the lake.

"Ichigo! Put me down!" she yelled as she started to punch and kick him while he held her over the water.

He smiled. "You shouldn't have said that." Then he let go of the petite woman and she fell into the water with a big splash.

Ichigo and Renji started laughing at Rukia who was now very soaked and very pissed. She looked dead at Ichigo, pointed her arm at him and flicked her wrist. Before he knew it, there was a white flash in his face and Ichigo was on his back groaning while Renji continued to laugh even louder. Ichigo glared at Rukia who just stuck her tongue out at him.

Soon after they decided to head back to town. It was starting to get warmer out and they figured it'd be best to get out of the sun while they still could.

They walked along the sidewalk, entering back into town when Renji stopped short, trailing behind his friends as he gaped at an odd sight. He saw a young woman with spiky black hair stumbling along the other side of the road. Her right arm hung limply by her side, bleeding, and she was breathing hard with her eyes slightly unfocused.

"What the hell...?" Renji said out loud to himself. "Guys, look."

The two stopped and turned to look back at Renji. He pointed to the woman across the street and their eyes followed. "Tatsuki?" Ichigo said disbelievingly.

Hearing her name, Tatsuki looked over to the three. "Ichigo!" she called. Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji ran across the street and over to her.

"Tatsuki, what happened?" Rukia asked.

Tatsuki was about to speak, but instead doubled over, coughing. She was about to fall over when Ichigo caught her before she could hit the ground. He got a closer look at her bleeding right arm and left shoulder.

"She's been shot. We need to get her to a hospital," Ichigo said as he examined her nervously.

Rukia bent down and looked at Tatsuki. "The hospital is too far away. Can you take her to your dad's clinic?" she directed at Ichigo.

"Yeah, but where are you going?" he asked.

She put her hands on her hips as she looked in the direction of where the woman came from. "I want to go see something."

Ichigo knew Rukia was paranoid about the rumors of Daeva being targeted by some mysterious group, so he didn't question her motives. He picked up Tatsuki as he spoke, "Fine. Let me know if you find anything...and be careful."

Rukia and Renji nodded and started walking back out of town towards the forest. Ichigo started to head back to town. _What the hell is going on?_ he asked himself as he carried the bleeding woman to his father's clinic.

Rukia was looking at the ground as they followed the trail of blood that lead through the forest. They were surprised to see how much blood Tatsuki had already lost and still made it as far as she did. Eventually they came across a slight clearing where they were further shocked at what they saw. There were patches of burnt grass and trees all over the place, but what was most notable were five bodies that were severely burned. They both covered their noses from the smell of burnt flesh.

"They're definitely dead," Renji said as he knelt down next to one. "You think that girl did this?" he asked after a few seconds. This wasn't the first time they'd seen a dead body but that didn't make this experience enjoyable.

Looking at the burnt bodies, she said, "This looks like Tatsuki's work." Rukia walked over to another body and picked up the gun that was in it's hand. "It looks like they're the ones who shot her. We'll have to ask her when she wakes up," she stated.

"How do you and Ichigo know her?"

Rukia paused and looked at her cousin oddly. "Are you serious? She was in our graduating high school class," she informed him. "Ichigo says she stops by your guys' apartment to talk to him all the time."

Renji looked confused upon hearing that. He could have sworn he had never seen that woman before in his life. "Uh..." He quickly changed the subject. "What do we do about the bodies?" he asked while scratching the back of his head. Were they just supposed to leave them there?

She thought for a moment and then let out a sigh. "It's not like we can take them into town or anything."

Renji shrugged and stepped away from the dead men. They knew it wasn't a good idea to leave them, but there wasn't much they could do about it. They headed back to the Kurosaki clinic.

Ichigo was in the clinic while he stitched and wrapped up Tatsuki's arm and shoulder. Isshin wasn't home at the time so he had to do it himself after he got the bullet out of her arm. Luckily her shoulder was only grazed. He was grateful he was in medical school at the moment. He couldn't help but feel anxious waiting for Rukia and Renji to get back, but more so for Tatsuki to wake up and tell him what happened.

His older brother walked into the clinic section of the house. "What are you doing here, Kaien?" Ichigo asked.

The dark haired man looked at the sleeping Tatsuki on a patient bed curiously. "I was just dropping off some supplies for Dad," he said while walking closer to the bed, "is that Tatsuki Arisawa?" Ichigo nodded. "What's she doing here?" Kaien asked.

"We found her on our way back from the lake. She was shot in the arm and shoulder."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately," Ichigo sighed. Just then Rukia and Renji came walking into the clinic. "Did you guys find anything?"

Renji spoke. "Yeah, a trail of her blood leads to five bodies in the forest, all burnt to a crisp. Each of the bodies had guns on them," he explained while eying the sleeping woman.

"That's Tatsuki for you," Kaien said confidently.

Rukia hadn't noticed Kaien was there and smiled at him. "Hey, Kaien, how are you?" she said sweetly.

He showed his pearly white teeth. "Better since you got here."

Ichigo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Rukia and Kaien had the tendency to flirt back and forth. Of course both of them were extremely faithful to there partners but Kaien would always harmlessly flirt with his female friends whenever they were in the same room. Rukia and Kaien were best friends and that was something they always did. Everyone knew it didn't mean anything, after all Kaien introduced Rukia to Ichigo but that didn't make it any less annoying.

"Ow," they heard someone hiss. They all turned their attention to Tatsuki who was sitting up while holding her shoulder with her eyes squinted in pain. She then noticed the room full of people who were all looking at her. She blinked a few times before speaking. "...Ichigo?" she said as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Where am I?"

"Our dad's clinic," Kaien answered.

_I made it to Karakura?_ Tatsuki thought. She looked at Kaien for a moment before smiling. "Hey, Kaien," she said as sweetly as Rukia had just a few seconds before.

He smirked and gave her a wink. "Hey beautiful, glad to see you're awake."

Ichigo almost fell out of his chair. _What the hell? _he said to himself. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an exasperated breath before speaking. "Tatsuki, what happened to you in the woods?"

She glared at the memory of earlier that day as she started to speak. "I don't really know who they were, but when I was jogging through the forest, three guys came out of no where and started shooting at me," she said grimly. "I got rid of them but I was already shot in the arm when more of those guys showed up and attacked again."

"But how did they know you were a Daeva?" Rukia asked.

Tatsuki paused for a moment and pulled something out her pocket. She held it out in her palm for them to see the crystal currently glowing bright red. "What is it?" Ichigo finally asked.

"It's what they used to find us, I'm guessing. Apparently it glows red when Daeva are near," she explained handing it to him. She stood up and stretched her arms out, only to wince at the pain that was currently shooting from her right arm and left shoulder.

Kaien studied the crystal for a second. "You have no idea who those guys were?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, I can only assume they're the people from the rumors."

Someone new walked into the room with a confused expression on his face. "What's going on here?" asked Isshin.

Everyone turned to look at the bearded man. "Hello, Mr. Kurosaki," Tatsuki greeted.

A big grin came across his face. "Tatsuki! How are you? It's always nice seeing my son's greatest rival! Oh, never can I forget how you used to always beat up my punk of a son!" he said with a jolly laugh. Rukia and Renji couldn't hold back their snickering. "Ichigo, have you called her here to finally redeem your honor as a ma-oof!"

He didn't get to finish because Ichigo had punched him in the face. "That was years ago! Quit bringing up old stuff!" he yelled to his dad.

It was then Isshin noticed the crystal that was in Kaien's hand. "Where did you get that?" he asked, his tone suddenly becoming serious. Tatsuki once again explained what happened and what she suspected about the rumors to him.

()()()

Pain. It was all she felt at the moment. Excruciating pain all over her body. She couldn't see past the bright light shining in her eyes and the only thing she heard was a low, dull sound. It took her a while to realize that sound was her own groans of agony.

Karin's head was hurting her like nothing she'd ever felt. A throbbing that felt like it was trying to push its way out of her head, slipping through the cracks in her skull. She knew she was in the Daeva Penitentiary's lab. It was the only place that was so white, the only place that caused this kind of pain. Her body felt heavy and she had a hard time moving, further telling her where she was. She must have just went through another experiment. The head scientist, Mayuri Kurotsuchi loved to run his little tests on her and the others. He had even come up with his own type of tranquilizer that rendered a person motionless, yet never taking away the feeling of pain. A truly twisted man.

Karin, retaining some of her motor skills, turned her head to scope out the room. She was on a hard, cold table, strapped down by her hands, feet, and waist. There were two people to her left still in the room, turned away from her. The woman who Karin knew to be Kurotsuchi's assistant, was writing something down while Kurotsuchi himself was speaking on a telephone. "Yes, the procedure on 6436 is over and I'll administer the test to see if it was successful. Yes, she is the first one to survive," he said, sounding quite pleased with himself.

_What did they do to me? s_he wondered, trying to subtly pull her arms from the restraints, but it was no use.

"I'll start on 4781 soon after," Kurotsuchi continued.

She paused. Her Penitentiary number was 6436 while she knew Toushiro's was 4781. All the children were referred to by the numbers they were given after first arriving. Only those who remembered their names from their lives before the Penitentiary had real names.

What ever "procedure" Kurotsuchi preformed on her, he was planning to do it to Toushiro as well. She needed to get out. Her muscles were sore but she found herself being able to move easier within the limits of the straps that kept her on the metal table.

"Sir, she is awake," said the lab woman in a monotone voice.

"Ah, is she know?" He hung up the phone and turned to Karin with a disturbingly cheerful smile. The white makeup that completely covered his face only added to his insane appearance. "And how are you feeling?"

She just glared back at the mad man, refusing to show her pain. His smile didn't waver when without warning, he plunged a scalpel down into her thigh. Her breath caught in her throat as she let out a yelp. He leaned closer to her face and said, "I do believe I asked you a question, girl."

"Fucking bastard," she spat out.

He pulled out the tool and turned around to the woman. "Nemu, is the test ready?"

"Almost," replied the woman, turned away from them. She was rapidly doing something that Karin could not see.

Kurotsuchi growled in irritation, "Useless girl, must I do everything?"

"Ready."

Karin glared at the scientist. She knew what ever that test might be, it wasn't going to be something she wanted to experience.

Suddenly there was a loud bang outside the lab door and a man's scream could be heard. From under the door, a cold mist poured in through the crack and filled the room. Kurotsuchi and his assistant stopped, looking cautiously at the door. "Nemu," he said, "go check what's going on."

The woman nodded and pushed the door wide open. Karin turned her head to the right, towards the door. There was no one there, but the entire hall was coated in a sheet of ice. She smirked.

"What do you se-" Kurotsuchi didn't get to finish his question. The ice that covered the floors and walls crept into the room, completely encasing the two scientists.

"Thanks, you really saved my ass, Toushiro," Karin said.

Said boy walked into the lab and untied her straps. "No problem." Once free, Karin sat up, but quickly grabbed her head in pain. "Can you walk?" he asked.

She took a deep breath and slid off the table. Standing, not only was her head killing her, but now her left thigh was throbbing. Her leg could be easily ignored, she'd had worse, but her intense headache was another story. She couldn't so much as blink without pain rushing to her head, weakening her stature.

Toushiro went to the cabinets, walking past the two frozen scientists. "What are you doing?" Karin asked as he rummaged through the contents of the cabinets. He finally found what he was looking for and went back to Karin.

"We need to get out of here now," he said, "and we won't make it with you limping and falling around."

In his hand was a syringe filled with a liquid. Her eyes widened. "So you're going to shoot me up with something?"

"Just to take the pain away long enough for us to get out of here," he answered while holding her arm, looking for an entry point. "We'll have to hurry. This stuff will knock you out before too long."

Karin looked at him nervously. "Do you know how much to give me?" He didn't answer. "You mean your guessing?!"

"Estimating."

Before she could say anything else, he stuck the syringe in her arm and pressed down on it, distributing the anesthetic. Once done, he tossed it aside and pulled her to her feet. "Come on."

()()()

Ichigo, Kaien and their guests were all sitting at the Kurosaki dinning room table, taking a break to eat.

Renji turned to Tatsuki while the others were talking amongst each other. "In case you didn't know, I'm Renji Abarai."

"Yeah, you're Ichigo's roommate and Rukia's cousin. We had the same class in high school," she said, wondering why he didn't think she'd remember the infamous captain of the kendo team at Karakura High.

The rehead, again, felt stupid. How had he never noticed her before and yet she remembered him? He diverged the topic once again. "Okay, I got a question."

She sat back in her chair. "Shoot."

"Since you're a Daeva, what do you do? Control fire or something?" he asked curiously thinking about the condition of the men in the forest.

She shook her head. "No, it's more like can I shoot it out. I can't exactly control it," she explained.

The short haired woman looked at the poster that was plastered on the wall next to the dinning table. The poster had a picture of Ichigo's mother with the words on it saying, 'R.I.P Masaki'. She looked down at the table's surface. She was reminded of how Ichigo lost his mom when he was just nine years old. And then only three years after that the twins went missing.

"You guys are going to have to be careful from now on," Kaien announced, distracting her from her thoughts. "There's quiet a few Daeva here in Karakura and you're easily a target for more attacks."

This, they all knew. It was rare for there to be even one Daeva in a large city, and the fact that four of them were in a town stuck out more than they would like. It was dangerous in many ways.

"But we don't know anything about these people," Rukia said.

Isshin came back into the room with a smile on his face. "I think I can clear up a few things, though I myself don't know much more than you all." He sat down at the table. "What I know for certain is that the men who attacked Tatsuki are known as the Banished."

* * *

**Hope y'all liked this first chapter. Like I said (and always say) if you like it, let me know with your wonderful words of encouragement or constructive criticism!**

**Expect lots of action and blood in chapters to come :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Here's the second chapter, since you seemed to like the first one :)**

**A lot of people asked me about Yuzu. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Karin's dear twin. You guys will find out where she is...next chapter!**

**Anyway, thanks for all the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

* * *

"The Banished? Who are they?" Ichigo asked his father.

Isshin sighed. "Admittedly, I don't know much about them. I've only heard rumors from reliable sources."

"You mean the people who attacked Tatsuki and the Daeva disappearances are the Banished?" Rukia asked, feeling a tenseness build up in her muscles. Her hand rested on Ichigo's arm, probably without her notice.

"Yes. Although the disappearances would be more accurately called murders."

Ichigo scowled. He had brushed off his father's earlier warnings because the old man had been so flaky about everything regarding the disappearances. "Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?"

"Because I wasn't sure if it was true or not. Now it appears so."

"All right," Kaien said, understanding his father's reasoning. "So what can you tell us about the Banished?"

Isshin seemed to think for a moment as everyone waited silently. "I don't know their origins, but essentially they are a secret organization out to get rid of all Daeva."

Renji rolled his eyes. The Banished sounded like a bunch of idiots to him. "How do they think they'll pull that off?"

"It seems they have there ways," said Isshin, glancing over in Tatsuki's direction. "I was just planning to meet with a friend of mine who knows more about this than I do."

He stood up and Kaien did as well. "I'll go with you, I want to hear what your friend has to say."

"No, I want you all to stay here. It's safest if you all stay together. I'll be back soon though." And with that, Isshin left the house.

The five young adults all sat at the dinning table, looking at each other. "So what do we do now?" Tatsuki asked, completely positive the last thing she was about to do was stay at the house.

"I say we go back to where you fried those guys and see if there's anything on them that could tell us more about the Banished," Rukia proposed, rising from her seat.

"But wouldn't it make sense to just wait for Isshin to get back and tell us what he knows?" asked Renji. He wasn't opposed to finding out answers for themselves, but he already had fill of burnt bodies for one afternoon. It was going to take him days to get that awful smell out of his head.

"Lazy ass," Ichigo mumbled.

Renji's head snapped in Ichigo's direction. "What was that fruit boy?"

Ichigo opened his mouth the retort, but was popped in the back of his head by his short girlfriend. "Not now, you two," said Rukia, looking over to her cousin. "Renji, do you really think Isshin is going to tell us everything? He's been keeping this from us for a reason."

"She's right," Kaien agreed. After all, why else wouldn't his father let him come along? "We can't depend on answers from everyone else."

"Well I'm up for that. It's better than just sitting around here," said Ichigo, getting up from his seat.

"Let's do it." Tatsuki rose, accepting the idea.

Renji just sighed, standing up as well. _Damn peer pressure._

"There's two different groups in the forest, right?" said Kaien. "We should split up. It'd be a lot quicker that way."

"Kaien, you're coming?" Ichigo asked.

The older man raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You're not a Daeva, you don't have to worry about this."

He scoffed. "Listen to yourself, Ichigo. You really think I'd turn my head when you could be in danger?" Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck, realizing what he unintentionally accused Kaien of. The older brother smirked. "Besides, you'd be hopeless without me leading you around."

"All right then, let's go."

()()()

Urahara sat in his candy shop, listlessly reading a small book to pass the time. A tall man wearing glasses walked into the back room with a broom in his hands. The shopkeeper lowered his book and acknowledged the man.

"You have a visitor."

He looked behind his employee and saw a beautiful woman walking into the shop. "Thank you, Tessai."

Tessai nodded and left back outside to continue sweeping. The woman walked in and up to the blond man. "Have you talked to Isshin?" she asked in a voice that said she knew he hadn't.

"No, I haven't gotten around to that yet," he said sheepishly.

She sighed and settled herself in front of him. "Why not? Don't you think it's important to speak with him about the increasing danger? All these attacks and murders, there's going to be a genocide soon if we don't do anything. Not to mention the Daeva Penitentiary."

"Of course. He should be on his way here now actually," he said, glancing to the old clock that hung over the doorway. "But I think there's been a change in developments. I don't think I can tell him anything more about the Penitentiary than what he'll soon learn from someone else."

"What do you mean? No one else knows about it," the dark skinned woman said curiously. "We've only learned of the DP recently. Who else could know?"

Urahara opened his fan, hiding half of his face. "I've caught wind of some interesting news," he said with an airy tone. "I believe a family reunion will take place very soon."

Her yellow eyes widened in realization. "You can't mean..." she trailed off before changing her tone. "I see. You already suspected this would happen. But how did you know?"

"I have my ways," he replied. The woman stood up and turned around to leave the store. "Going to visit them, Yoruichi?" Urahara called after her.

She grinned. "Can't leave everything to you, can I?" Yoruichi shot back before disappearing in a flash.

()()()

Karin groggily opened her eyes. She was moving along side an empty dirt road. On both sides of the road were wide open fields. White hair brushed against her cheek. Her arms were slung over his shoulders and his hands were holding her legs. She yawned.

"Toushiro," she said in a drowsy voice, "put me down. I can walk."

He stopped. "You're finally awake? Took you long enough."

She scowled. "Maybe if someone hadn't given me so much of that crap, I wouldn't be so tired."

"Would you have rather been in agonizing pain while running for our lives out of that place?" Toushiro challenged.

"Just put me down."

He let her off his back and she stumbled for a few steps. After regaining her balance, she stretched her tense muscles and looked up at the sky, grinning. She had forgotten how blue the sky was in the years she'd been denied it. And the fresh air she had been so deprived of was almost overwhelming. After so many years locked in dark, lifeless cells, the colors of her surroundings looked more beautiful than she remembered. Realizing how much she truly missed the outside world, it felt as though she had been locked up for more than a hundred years, rather than eight.

She couldn't help but feel as though all her problems just disappeared, if only for a brief second. No more living caged up like animals without even the warm comfort of light. No more fighting for their lives in the rings, serving only as entertainment for the those who paid to watch. No longer being experimented on like lab rats. No more. And so for only a second, Karin was the happiest she had ever been.

Toushiro quietly waited for her to soak in everything. When they made it out of the Penitentiary and the anesthesia had knocked Karin out, he had his own time to revel in their apparent freedom.

Unlike Karin, he never knew the things she often told him about when they were still captive in that place. He didn't understand when she talked about blue skies, starry nights, a bright yellow sun, and a pale white moon. He didn't know what she meant by green grass and colorful flowers. He had never seen such things in his whole life. He didn't know anything outside of the Daeva Penitentiary, because that's where he'd been since he could remember. Toushiro Hitsugaya, his name, the only thing he knew that didn't originate in that place. It was all he had that was his own. And now that he was finally seeing this world she had talked about, rather than just vague imaginations, he was unsure of what to think of it all.

"We're free, Toushiro," Karin breathed out, her back towards him. But she didn't sound happy or cheerful like he would expect. No, she sounded very somber.

"Karin?" he asked as he got closer.

She turned around to him with a frown as opposed to her usual scowl. "We're free," she repeated, "but the others aren't."

He sighed. "There's nothing we can do right now," he said. "We can't be stupid and go back by ourselves. It was a miracle we made it out."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" she snapped. "Forget about them?"

"I didn't say that. We'll find a way to help them, but first we need to figure out what we're going to do right now."

Karin was hesitant to move on. Though she was closest to Toushiro in the Penitentiary, she stilled cared about the other children there. She wasn't going to just move on now that she was out. She couldn't settle for how things were until she helped the other children as well. Until they were where she was right now. Free.

For Toushiro, as long as Karin was safe, the others didn't matter to him. It was a callous attitude, but he wouldn't lie and pretend he cared for the others. He resented them, and it was no secret. The other children feared him. In a place where they all should have been the same, not a single one better than the other, they still thought he was a monster.

All but Karin.

He knew Karin wouldn't just forget about them. She was stubborn and wouldn't quit when she set out to do something. And he wouldn't make her. He may not understand the compassion she felt for the other kids, but he was aware of how strongly she felt for them.

"I promise, we'll get them out," Toushiro reassured.

She studied him before briefly giving a small smile. "Okay," she said, satisfied with his answer. "So...what do we do now?"

"Well aren't you two the cutest little couple," said a feminine voice from behind. Startled, they turned around, ready to fight.

The woman put her hands up. "Whoa, whoa, take it easy," she teased. "I just thought I might be able to help you two."

"Who are you?" Karin snapped, still in an offensive stance along with Toushiro. "What do you want?"

"Didn't you hear me? I said I'm here to help."

Toushiro narrowed his eyes. "You're a Daeva. Who are you and why do you want to help us?"

"Aren't you sharp. Let's just say I'm close friends with the Kurosaki family," she explained. "The name's Yoruichi Shihoin."

"Kurosaki family?" Karin asked.

Yoruichi cocked her head to the side in false wonder. "Does that name ring a bell?"

"Where are they?" she asked.

The tanned woman smiled. "That's why I'm here."

The two teens gave each other a glance, silently sending each other messages. "Why should we trust you?"

"Why wouldn't you?" she continued in a mocking tone. "Are you running from someone, Toushiro?" He scowled at her and she sighed. "You don't have to trust me, but I know where I'm going and I also happen to know that a unit of the Banished are coming this way."

Karin didn't hide her urgency. "What? How do they know where we are?"

Yoruichi's catty grin had yet to fall. "This unit doesn't know about you. They're on their way to Karakura. To get rid of your family."

"My family? They're alive?" Karin asked disbelievingly. She never imagined seeing them again, even after escaping. She had no way to know where they were, or even who they were.

"Yes, and like I just told you, I'm here to take you to them."

Toushiro still didn't trust the woman. "How do we know you're not part of the Banished just trying to trick us? You know us, and more importantly _about_ us, despite that we've never met."

Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "Just because that Banished unit isn't looking for you, doesn't mean they won't take you back to the Penitentiary when they see you out here. You're clothes are a dead giveaway." The two briefly glanced down at their attire. "Every second you waste here with questions, that unit gets closer and closer."

"Fine," Karin said, "we'll ask questions as we go."

The woman held her hands out. "Great, let's go." The teens just stood there, looking at her. "You guys coming?" she asked.

They quickly walked up her. "Take my hands," she instructed.

Karin took one hand and Toushiro took the other. In an instant, they were no longer on the dirt road in the middle of a field. Everywhere they looked, large trees blocked their view of anything farther than 20 meters.

Karin jerked her hand back and turned away. The pain and disorientation in her head reappeared full force. She bent over, throwing up nothing more than the small amount of water she had consumed before escaping the Penitentiary. Toushiro was at her side, rubbing her back.

"You all right?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm fine."

They were both aware Kurotsuchi had done something to her, but they didn't know what. It made them uneasy, even more so knowing Toushiro would have had the same thing done to him. There must have been a reason they were the ones chosen. They were to fight each other in the ring after the procedure, but their handlers knew Karin and Toushiro would die before fighting each other to the death.

Yoruichi eyed Karin cautiously. "Did something happen before you two escaped?"

The young girl quickly shook her head, only worsening the discomfort and nausea. "No, I just got a bump on the head. I think I might have a concussion," she lied.

Toushiro quickly diverted the topic. "I thought you said you were taking us to Karin's family. Why are we in the middle of a forest?"

Yoruichi frowned and crossed her arms. "Yeah, about that. I'm sure you've figured out what my abilities is. Normally I can go just about anywhere in the country with no problem, but it's harder when I'm traveling with other people. The Kurosaki house is a little out of my range from where we just were with you two weighing me down."

"Then can't you just transport us again?" he asked.

She smiled. "I'm a little low on energy."

His teal eyes narrowed, but he held back the urge to send a giant icicle through her head. "Where are we?"

"We're at the edge of the forest just outside of Karakura. It's about half a day's walk to town."

Karin groaned. That was a lot of walking with her head splitting in two and her injured thigh. "You couldn't have taken us to a closer city? We could have rented a car or taken a cab instead of having to do all this walking."

Toushiro's eyebrows knitted together. _What's a car?_

The tall woman held back a laugh. "I can teleport, what makes you think I know how to drive a car? And more importantly, who would be paying for that car or cab?"

Karin bit back a few choice words she wanted to assault the woman with. "Let's just get going." Yoruichi led the way as the two teens followed behind, glaring at the back of her head. "So how do you know us?" Karin finally asked.

"I guess you wouldn't remember, but I used to visit your mother and father every once in a while," she explained. "So technically I've met Karin before," she directed at Toushiro.

"Then how do you know me?" he asked.

She paused, as if wondering whether she should answer or not. Finally she said, "You're quite famous when it comes to the Daeva Fights. Both of you."

Both Toushiro and Karin stopped. "Maybe we're asking the wrong questions. How do you know about the Banished?" he asked lowly. It appeared the woman wasn't going to be completely open about what she knew, at least regarding Toushiro. Her explanation still didn't explain how she knew his real name since prisoners were only known by their numbers. If you forgot your real name, you didn't have one.

"That's more like it," she purred as she turned to face them. "I investigate the Banished, with the DP falling under that subject. I've seen quite a few Daeva Fights during my research and you two are by far some of the most popular. You get the highest bets and attract the most crowds. But I think that's enough questions for now."

Momentarily satisfied with what they've learned, they started walking again. They walked for at least a few hours before stopping to rest. Both Toushiro and Karin were sitting on the ground, exhausted. Yoruichi looked at them. "You guys are tired? Tsk tsk, youth today..." she mused.

"What do you expect? We haven't eaten in two days," Karin complained while rubbing her left thigh where Kurotsuchi had stabbed her.

"This is taking much longer than I thought," Yoruichi mumbled while looking up at the sun, ignoring Karin. "I hope they're still out here."

"Who?" Toushiro asked, sitting up.

"They're close," she muttered to herself, too low for them to hear. She then turned to the two. "This is where I leave you. See you soon."

Karin stood up. "Wait, what?" With a grin, Yoruichi disappeared in a flash. "She's gone!"

They both stood there, staring at the stop the woman vanished from. Karin crossed her arms and pouted. "That liar, she said was going to take us to my family."

"We have to find her," Toushiro said, walking past her. "We don't know how to get out of this forest."

She squinted her eyes in frustration. "You think?" She scanned the trees and everything else that was around them. She almost got caught up in the sights again before regaining her composure. "We should split up to cover more ground."

He contemplated leaving Karin alone. She was still hurt whether she wanted to admit it or not. _But she does have a point,_ he thought begrudgingly. "Okay, we'll meet back here before sundown. If anything happens, run. Run and call for me."

"Got it," she said as she left west of the small clearing they were resting in while Toushiro went north.

()()()

Ichigo, Kaien, and Rukia walked through the trees of the forest bordering Karakura Town. They were looking for the men that Rukia and Renji inspected earlier while Renji and Tatsuki would be looking for the first group of men that attacked. They had been walking for sometime now and were starting to get restless.

"Are we there yet?" Ichigo complained.

"Almost," Rukia snapped for the fifth time.

Ichigo groaned. "You said that 20 minutes ago."

"Then stop asking."

"Calm down you two, you sound like little kids," Kaien chided. Finally they reached the clearing with the five bodies still lying there, burnt. Ichigo raised his arm to his nose to block out the smell. Kaien walked over to one of them. "Search their clothes for anything that could be helpful," he said in a tight voice.

They searched the men as thoroughly as they could. It was hard when everything was so burned and charred.

Ichigo checked the pockets, prying apart the stiff cloth. Nothing. We went to the body next to it and did the same. He lifted the body to check under, just to be thorough, but still nothing.

"This is disgusting," he muttered, looking at the burnt flesh. "Remind me to never piss Tatsuki off."

He dropped the body. As it hit the ground, a jingle caught his ear. He checked the dead man's clothing against, finding a pocket he missed on the inside of the once white jacket. He reached inside and pulled out a set of car keys on a silver chain.

Ichigo smirked and stood, dangling the keys. "Hey guys, look."

"They must have come from out of town and drove here. Their car is probably hidden somewhere in the woods," said Kaien, walking over to inspect the keys.

Suddenly the forest air cooled dramatically. Rukia shivered and grabbed her arms. "Do you guys feel that?" she asked, surprised to see her own breath.

A cool mist traveled across the forest floor. "What the hell?" Ichigo looked around. "How is that possible? It's the middle of July."

"It's coming from over there," Rukia pointed out, where the trees were thicker.

The three of them made their way out of the clearing and to the source of the mist. Each of them hid behind a large tree and peaked ahead where they saw two people. Kaien motioned for Ichigo and Rukia to stay quiet.

One was a man dressed in all white clothes, idly holding a gun at his side. It was clear with one look that he was a member of the Banished.

Opposite from the man was a boy. He was odd looking with his snow white hair and short posture. He looked starved under his blood soaked shirt with sleeves torn off at the shoulders. His shorts were ragged as well with holes and more blood. He didn't even have any shoes.

_Do we help him? _Ichigo thought as he looked on, still hidden from sight. He wasn't sure what was going on or what to do.

The man in white spoke. "Still standing, huh? Tell me, what's a DP brat like you doing out here?" The boy remained silent. "Not gonna answer? I don't know how you got out, but you're dead now," he threatened. He quickly raised his gun, aimed at the boy.

Ichigo rushed from behind the tree, but before he could run to aid the boy, the man fired his gun.

But the boy still stood. Ichigo froze where he was, watching the scene unfold. In front of the boy was a small wall of ice with a bullet lodged in it.

_He's a Daeva, _the three thought in astonishment.

He raised his hand and the wall broke into several shards of ice, floating before the boy. The man in white quickly turned around and began to run away in the direction of where Ichigo, Kaien, and Rukia were hiding. Before the man could complete his third step, an ice shard flew into the back of his right calf and he fell just a few feet in from the trees they hid behind.

The boy walked up to the man as he struggled to crawl away. "Wait, please! Don't kill me!" he begged.

The teenager could have laughed. "You shot me. And not a minute ago you just tried to shoot me again. Now you're asking me to let you go?" he asked angrily. "How many Daeva have you killed?"

The man's leg started to freeze under the boy's glare.

"My leg!" the man cried in pain as he grabbed his limb. The icicle in his calf grew bigger, covering the rest of the leg.

The white haired teen gave a sinister smirk as he said, "No need to worry about your leg now, it's frozen solid. You can never use it again...not that you'll need to."

Rukia narrowed her eyes and glanced to Ichigo. He nodded. They knew they couldn't let the boy kill the Banished member when they still needed information.

"Stop," Kaien said as he stepped from behind his tree, beating Ichigo and Rukia to the punch. The two followed in suit and showed themselves as well. "We need to speak with that man, and you, as well."

The young Davea didn't look shocked to see the new comers. The man in white looked hopefully at the three. "You have to help me! He's a monster! I'll tell you whatev—Ah!" He stopped short and yelled again at the pain in his leg as it continued to freeze further.

"Stop!" Rukia demanded, stepping closer.

The boy stepped forward, challenging the three to stop him. It was then that they saw the boy's neck, wrists, and ankles were bruised and bloody, signs of harsh restraints used over a long period of time.

"We understand that he's part of the Banished, but we need to talk him. Let him go," she said.

"Mind your own business," the boy demanded, glaring at her with cold teal eyes. The ice was beginning to reach the man's torso but by then he had already passed out. They could see the frost cover his body, ice slowly encasing him, creeping further up.

Suddenly a mass of black energy tore through the air and hit the boy in the chest. He flew back and hit the ground hard.

Kaien turned to his younger brother. "Ichigo, what are you doing?"

"We needed to stop him from freezing that guy," he defended. "I didn't hit him with a strong one."

"But he's just kid," said Rukia, suddenly feeling a little guilty.

Ichigo held back a scoff. "'Just a kid' my ass." He gestured to the motionless man on the ground. "Were you not seeing what this 'kid' was doing?"

Rukia shook her head, disapproving Ichigo's rash actions. Kaien walked over to the man and put his fingers to the his neck, checking his pulse.

Kaien sighed. "He's dead," he told the others.

"Damn," Ichigo muttered.

"You guys," Rukia called. They looked over to see her panicked expression. "Where's the kid?"

Spikes of ice traveled across the ground, headed directly for Ichigo and Kaien. They jumped out the way, dodging the attack. They looked around frantically. "Where is he?" Ichigo asked.

The boy stepped from behind a tree and into view, with a menacing look. Rukia put her hands up, ready to fight, and stood in front of Kaien. "Stay back," she warned him. "We'll handle this."

He begrudgingly stepped down, knowing there wasn't much he could do at the moment. Ichigo took his stance as well. "Don't worry, Kaien," he called to his brother, "this won't take long."

* * *

**And there you it! I bet Ichigo met up with one of our two runaways quicker than you thought, huh? I like to keep things moving as a fast pace :)**

**If you liked this chapter, go away and tell me in that little box below! Reviews = Love which keeps me writing ^_^**

**Thanks for reading! See you soon!**


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